


A Different Life, A Different Time

by xxDustNight88



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Dialogue Light, F/M, Minor Character Death, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-01-07 10:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18408521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: When Hermione finds herself stuck in the past, she decides to take fate into her own hands. Somewhere along the line, her heart finds itself intertwined with a certain wizard who was destined to be evil.





	A Different Life, A Different Time

**Author's Note:**

> This was NOT beta read. I apologize and will come back to fix the errors later. I was in a rush to finish and post this. Anything you recognize is NOT mine. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Thank you to the Admin of The Dark Lord's Poison on facebook for hosting this event!
> 
> Prompt: Tom Riddle + Any Character (Hermione)/#HHBingo19 Square O2: "I never knew a better sound than my name on your lips." - Bridgett Devoue

It wasn't always easy dealing with Time-Turners. Hermione knew that from third year. However, that didn't stop her from deciding to go back in time and gather potions ingredients for a cure to some new disease that cropped up after the war. Only, things didn't go exactly as planned and she ended up back at Hogwarts during Tom Riddle's fifth year.

It was the year he'd set the Basilisk loose on the castle. She knew she shouldn't, but Hermione went to Dumbledore and explained the situation. She was stuck, you see, the Time-Turner having broken somehow. With no way home, she was going to try and make the world a better place. Perhaps, she could stop the awful future from happening and save lives in the process. It was just too bad she would never see it.

After hours of relentless questioning with Veritaserum, and a few trips into her mind, Dumbledore found truth in Hermione. He had Headmaster Dippet hire her on as his apprentice. That was how she was able to be in the castle and how she met the young Tom Riddle for the first time. Vowing to make sure the future would be safe, Hermione made it her mission to befriend Tom and keep him from straying toward the Dark.

Now, Hermione was older than Tom, but that didn't matter. His life had hardened him and caused him to be more mature than your average young adult. He was very curious about Hermione, or rather, Ms. Granger. In the library, he would often be found lingering near her table. A few times, he boldly walked up to her and asked questions pertaining to what she was doing. She would simply smile and explain that she was researching for Dumbledore.

Secretly, Hermione and Dumbledore destroyed the Basilisk. They killed it while it slept and then convinced Dippet to have that particular loo remodeled. That year, no one was attacked and Myrtle did not die. It appeared Hermione's plan was working. Tom Riddle never seemed phased by the changes but he did spend more and more time trying to get Hermione to open up about her family history.

In Tom's sixth year, Hermione started having various people she knew to associate with him join her in the library. This helped to assure that Tom was unable to have his Death Eater meetings as planned. Dumbledore also made sure that all of the special House artifacts were safely locked away in the Headmaster's office. Tom would have no way of turning them into Horcruxes. This still made Hermione nervous, however. Just because they hid away the items he intended to use didn't mean he wouldn't make others.

Seventh year was when it happened. Dumbledore strangely took ill and Hermione was chosen to replace him as Transfiguration Professor until he recovered. Only, he never did. Dumbledore passed away right before NEWTs and Hermione was offered the position full-time. Thrilled by the opportunity, she accepted the position. She fit well into her new life here in the past. It didn't matter that she couldn't return to the future. She loved teaching and she was loving saving the world from the darkness within Tom as well.

As for Tom, he continued to keep an eye on Hermione, but she didn't mind. She allowed him to come to her for extra lessons and help her research. He was her assistant in everything but name. The more time they spent together, the more Hermione realized how infatuated she was becoming with the wizard. Luckily, her title as Profesor kept her from acting on such feelings. Tom, however, seemed to feel much the same and would bring her presents.

At one point, he presented her with the Gaunt ring. He seemed slightly taken aback at her hesitation in accepting the ring. She explained that it was because of them being teach and student, but really it was because she was afraid it was cursed as a Horcrux. It turned out that Tom hadn't turned it into a Horcrux. He was honest in telling her he'd once upon a time had heinous plans for it but that he had changed for the better. When she asked what had changed his heart, she simply said, "You."

The end of the year arrived and instead of traveling abroad creating Horcuxes and building a following, Tom took up residence in Hogsmeade. He worked at the bookshop and would frequently visit Hermione at the castle. They spent quiet nights in her quarters, talking about books and sharing potion theories. You see, Tom still intended to apply for the Potions position once he felt he had enough experience. He was planning to apprentice with Slughorn next year so that he could take his place once the Potions Master retired.

Tonight was special. It was the first time they were really alone. Everyone else at Hogwarts had gone away for the month before school started, aside from the ghosts and house else, that is. The pair was walking the grounds in the moonlight, enjoying the quiet solitude it provided and giving them a chance to maybe act on the feelings that had been brewing for well over a year.

"Hermione?"

The way he said her name made her heart flutter. Since the school year had ended he'd stopped calling her Ms or Professor Granger and instead started calling her by her first time. And Hermione loved it. Never before had she loved the sound of her name as much as when it fell from his lips. That was how she knew she'd fallen for Tom Riddle. This Tom Riddle and not the evil one of her former life and time.

"What is it, Tom?" she asked gently, meeting his steady gaze and giving him a reassuring smile.

"When we're alone, I feel something special," Tom admitted, pausing by the lake finally taking hold of her hand. Their knuckles had been brushing as they walked side by side for well over half an hour. He turned toward her and smiled, his eyes shining in the darkness.

"I feel it too," Hermione quietly admitted, her cheeks coloring slightly. Even though their relationship had changed, it still felt a bit odd to be able to act on their feelings.

"I want to propose something," Tom told her with a wry smile. His thumb brushed over the back of her hand and sent excited chills down her spine.

"What is that?" she inquired, smiling at him in the moonlight. It was far too soon for marriage declarations, but she wouldn't mind at least taking a single step forward into a relationship with the wizard.

"I know that there is an age different and that I'll be an apprentice here for the next few years, but…" Tom hesitated, looking unsure for the first time Hermione could remember since traveling back in time. After a moment, he shook himself and continued, "I was hoping that perhaps we could explore the possibility of a romantic relationship with one another."

"Tom," Hermione said, staring into his eyes. She suddenly felt rather guilty and the need to blurt out that she wasn't who he thought her to be. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" he asked, tucking one of her curls behind one ear.

Inside, Hermione was a variant of emotions. She wanted to tell him the truth about who she was and what she had done upon arriving here. She wanted to tell him of what he could have become and the horrible person he avoided turning into. But instead, she smiled and shook her head. None of that mattered now. This was a different life. A different time. So instead of ruining everything they had built, she simply said…

"I love you."

Hermione left it at that, allowing Tom to pull her in for their first kiss. Maybe someday she would tell him the truth about the future and this life, but for now she intended to just enjoy having saved his soul. She did love Tom despite everything, but like she'd said, it was a different life, a different time, and she would embrace what she had right now.


End file.
